Garden Waste Collections Restart

Garden waste collections will restart on 13 May. 

The service is available to all customers who hold a 2019 to 2020 garden waste licence. Existing licences have been extended and we will start the renewals process in June.

We will not:

  • be able to collect side waste
  • collect overloaded bins

Please do not attempt to take any garden waste to any of the County Council’s Household Recycling Centres, as these are currently closed. 

Full details of all waste collections can be found here.

Gloucestershire Libraries Newsletter – May 2020

Gloucestershire County Council sent this bulletin at 01-05-2020 04:28 PM BST

May heaaderWelcome to May’s edition of Library news

A “really useful” list of websites!
Our Librarians in Library Services for Education have pulled together a list of learning resources for families. We have included everything from sites to entertain or educate kids at home, sites to help your research, and sites to help you keep healthy. We hope you find them as useful as we do! We’ve included some fantastic author websites and illustrator workshops as we love seeing them celebrating all things reading during these difficult times.

Virtual Reference Library!
While our libraries are closed, we can still offer online referenceresources free through your library membership!  Delve into important dates or events in history with Newsbank, Times Digital Archive and 19th Century Newspapers.  Expand your knowledge of a particular subject or a famous person using the Oxford Dictionary of Biography and Oxford Reference. Plus limited access to Find My Past for family history research.Why not broaden your musical tastes by accessing the Naxos Music Library.  Search by title or composer and enjoy some relaxing or uplifting music while you work from home or keep the children occupied. 

Ask Us – enquiry service and business support
Our Ask Us Service is now able to answer any enquiries sent via email or the enquiry form. Whether you are looking for home-schooling ideas or seeking business support during these unprecedented times, the Ask Us team are here to support you. From quick questions to in-depth research, you can ask any question and the Ask Us team will help you get started or refer you to the most relevant organisation to help you with your query.

More fantastic eAudiobooks
Try our Pick and Mix selection of  eAudiobooks – we add new titles each month; access is unlimited so join your fellow library listeners and we’d love to know what you think of these books! Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton – Darkly comic, mind-blowingly twisty, and with a cast of fantastically odd characters. The Familiars by Stacey Halls – To save her child, she will trust a stranger. To protect a secret, she must risk her life…

Browsing our digital books
Our doors may be shut but we hope you enjoy the serendipity of exploring our digital shelves! We continue to select a wide range of non fiction, including many health and wellbeing books available in eBook format. We’ve been busy adding fantastic fiction to our (virtual) shelves:

Liar Liar by Mel Sherratt (eBook) A gripping new crime thriller with twists and turns. Perfect for fans of Martina Cole.    
My pear-shaped life by Carmel Harrington (eBook) A joyful uplifting book about Greta, she’s funny, she’s flawed… 
Here we are by Graham Swift (eBook)A story spanning half a century following magician Ronnie Deane’s life from evacuation to Brighton Pier. 

We also have a wide range of awesome Magazines   eMagazines Check out the latest magazines, free to download to your device and keep for as long as you like! A great way to save money with your library card. From Good Housekeeping to Practical Photographer and even TV Times, we have a great range for you to browse. Why not travel the world from your sofa with National Geographic!
Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 logoMental Health Awareness Week takes place 18th– 24th May and we are  joining in to celebrate the thousands of acts of kindness that are so important to our mental health. We are missing our customers and volunteers at this difficult time but we are finding that curling up with a good library book or listening to a story is ideal as a way to reduce stress and boost our mood!

Digital Offers
People are benefiting from a vast range of digital resources while our libraries are closed. More than 40,000 digital items have been downloaded in March and April! Find out more here

Reminder 
We look forward to seeing you again in our libraries once we can reopen. Remember, you will not be charged for fines during the period our libraries have been closed.

May News Sheet

During the Coronavirus epidemic, this news sheet replaces the Forerunner magazine and recognises the reduced community activity and information need. Further changes are of course likely.

See the May News Sheet here.

Tomato plants

Tony Wooldridge has grown tomato plants this year and there are enough for others to have some if they would like.The plants are suitable for growing in a greenhouse, or outdoors once the frosts are over.If you’d like some, please contact him on 860697.

Best wishes
Tony 

Sewing Scrubs for the NHS

Need something to do? Some of you will have seen the recent coverage where volunteers are offering to sew scrubs for the NHS, which are in severe shortage nationwide. A Stroud group has been set up for this; if you’re interested in making scrubs, you need to first complete the attached form and they will then be in touch once they can allocate orders and send materials.

Complete the Scrubs form here.

If you aren’t able to make or would prefer to donate, you can donate towards materials here.

Webmaster

Information for Helping in the Current Environment

Helping others

The government have said there are only five reasons why people should leave their homes:

to shop for necessities
for medical reasons i.e. to go to a hospital
to exercise once a day
to travel to work if absolutely necessary
to care for a vulnerable person 

You may want to help a neighbour, a family member or a friend who is currently in isolation.

You may want to help in your local community, and if you sign up with Gloucestershire County Council’s Community Help Hub, you can tick specific things that you can assist with, such as walking someone’s dog for them, putting their bins out, picking up food or medicine for them or preparing meals for the freezer – https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/covid-19/ 

You can only provide support to people who are in isolation if you fulfil ALL of the conditions below:

1.    You are well and have no symptoms like a cough or high temperature and neither does anyone in your household;
2.    You are under 70;
3.    You are not pregnant;
4.    You do not have any long-term health conditions that make you vulnerable to coronavirus.

How to help safely:
1.    You should not go inside the homes of anyone you do not live with, especially vulnerable people or people who believe they may be infected and are self-isolating. 
2.    If you are picking essential items up for people, such as prescriptions or groceries, try to limit the amount of time you spend outside of your home by collecting your essential items during the same trip.
3.    You should stay 2m or six feet away from anyone you do not live with at all times. Do not share car journeys with people you do not live with.
4.    If you have offered to help other people, be mindful of situations where you may feel unsafe, for instance helping late at night.

You can find a lot more information on this and other related Covid-19 issues by following the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people

This is the end of the message – Best Wishes and Stay Safe
Message Sent By
Simon Bailey (Police, Neighbourhood Watch Officer, Glouce)

April News Sheet

During the Coronavirus epidemic, this news sheet replaces the Forerunner magazine and recognises the reduced community activity and information need. Further changes are of course likely.

See the April News Sheet here.